Current inputs interface for an electrical device

Abstract

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, an electrical power meter, is disclosed. The electrical power meter includes a housing for containing electrical circuitry therein, the housing including at least one of voltage and current inputs, the housing including passages extending entirely therethrough, wherein the passages are configured to receive a CT lead therethrough, and wherein the CT leads are not electrically connected to the electrical circuitry therein; and a face plate operatively supported on a surface of the housing, wherein the face plate includes at least one of displays, indicators and buttons. It is envisioned that the through passages are located along a side of the housing.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An electrical power meter comprising:
 a housing for containing electrical circuitry for measuring power usage therein, the electrical circuitry including a digital sampler configured for sampling at least one voltage waveform and at least one current waveform and at least one processor configured to execute a plurality of different tasks related to the sampled at least one voltage and current waveforms and running independently from one another in response to a plurality of concurrent request submitted by multiple users, 
 wherein the housing includes at least one voltage input and at least one current input coupled to the digital sampler, the at least one voltage input being disposed on a surface of the housing and the at least one current input being configured as at least one passage extending entirely through the housing, wherein the at least one passage is configured to receive at least one CT lead therethrough, and wherein said at least one CT lead extends through the at least one passage of the housing un-connected to any electrical component of said electrical circuitry for measuring power usage; 
 and a network interface configured to simultaneously provide the multiple users each with a result of a respective one of said plurality of different tasks. 
 
     
     
       2. The electrical power meter of  claim 1 , further comprising a memory coupled to the at least one processor for storing network protocol conversion algorithms. 
     
     
       3. The electrical power meter of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one processor performs at least one power calculation and converts at least one of the sampled voltage waveforms, the sampled current waveforms and the power calculation to at least one network protocol using one of the network protocol conversion algorithms, the at least one network protocol being provided through said network interface. 
     
     
       4. The electrical power meter of  claim 3 , wherein the network protocol is in accordance with Modbus Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). 
     
     
       5. The electrical power meter of  claim 3 , wherein the network protocol is in accordance with RS-485. 
     
     
       6. The electrical power meter of  claim 3 , wherein the network protocol is in accordance with an e-mail protocol. 
     
     
       7. The electrical power meter of  claim 3 , wherein the network protocol is in accordance with File Transfer Protocol (FTP). 
     
     
       8. The electrical power meter of  claim 3 , wherein the network protocol is in accordance with Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). 
     
     
       9. The electrical power meter of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of different tasks include executing revenue calculations. 
     
     
       10. The electrical power meter of  claim 1 , further comprising an external device interface for connecting an external device to said electrical power meter, wherein said external device transmits packet data to said electrical power meter to be processed by the at least one processor and provided through said network interface. 
     
     
       11. The electrical power meter of  claim 1 , wherein the network interface is an Ethernet interface. 
     
     
       12. The electrical power meter of  claim 1 , wherein the network interface supports one of 100 base-T and 10 base-T communications. 
     
     
       13. The electrical power meter of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor includes a web server operative to provide data to the network interface in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). 
     
     
       14. The electrical power meter of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor includes a web server operative to provide data to the network interface in Extensible Markup Language (XML) format. 
     
     
       15. The electrical power meter of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to e-mail alarms in response to predefined conditions. 
     
     
       16. The electrical power meter of  claim 1 , further comprising a gateway interface for communicating to slave devices speaking a serial protocol, wherein the at least one processor is further operative to format the serial data received by slave devices and transmit the formatted data via the network interface. 
     
     
       17. The electrical power meter of  claim 16 , wherein the at least one processor's said formatting includes changing the protocol of the data collected from the slave devices. 
     
     
       18. The electrical power meter of  claim 16 , wherein the at least one processor's said formatting includes modifying the data collected from the slave device into an Ethernet protocol. 
     
     
       19. The electrical power meter of  claim 16 , wherein the at least one processor's said formatting includes modifying the data collected from the slave device into a different data type. 
     
     
       20. The electrical power meter of  claim 16 , wherein the at least one processor's said formatting includes modifying the data collected from the slave device into Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). 
     
     
       21. The electrical power meter of  claim 16 , wherein the at least one processor's said formatting includes modifying the data collected from the slave device into Extensible Markup Language (XML). 
     
     
       22. The electrical power meter of  claim 16 , wherein the at least one processor's said formatting includes modifying the data collected from the slave device into an e-mail message. 
     
     
       23. An electrical power meter comprising:
 a housing for containing electrical circuitry for measuring power usage therein, the electrical circuitry including a digital sampler configured for sampling at least one voltage waveform and at least one current waveform and at least one processor configured to detect and record high-speed power quality events based on the sampled waveforms, 
 wherein the housing includes at least one voltage input and at least one current input coupled to the digital sampler, the at least one voltage input being disposed on a surface of the housing and the at least one current input being configured as at least one passage extending entirely through the housing, wherein the at least one passage is configured to receive at least one CT lead therethrough, and wherein said at least one CT lead extends through the at least one passage of the housing un-connected to any electrical component of said electrical circuitry for measuring power usage. 
 
     
     
       24. The electrical power meter of  claim 23 , wherein the digital sampler samples the at least one voltage waveform and at least one current waveform at a first scanning rate, further comprising:
 a plurality of digital high-speed peak detectors for detecting high-speed quality events of the power consumed by the user or provided by the provider at a second scanning rate, the second scanning rate being faster than the first scanning rate. 
 
     
     
       25. The electrical power meter of  claim 24 , wherein the first scanning rate is at least 120 Hz. 
     
     
       26. The electrical power meter of  claim 24 , wherein the first scanning rate is about 2 Hz to about 10 KHz. 
     
     
       27. The electrical power meter of  claim 24 , wherein the second scanning rate is at least 5 KHz. 
     
     
       28. The electrical power meter of  claim 24 , wherein the second scanning rate is about 5 KHz to about 20 MHz. 
     
     
       29. The electrical power meter of  claim 24 , wherein the first scanning rate is at least 120 Hz and the second scanning rate is at least 5 KHz. 
     
     
       30. The electrical power meter of  claim 24 , further comprising a wave analysis component for comparing the detected high-speed quality events to a predetermined threshold, storing the detected high-speed quality events in time synchronization with the sampled waveforms if the high-speed quality events detected are above the predetermined threshold in a memory, and disregarding the detected high-speed quality events if the detected high-speed quality events are below the predetermined threshold. 
     
     
       31. The electrical power meter of  claim 30 , wherein the memory stores the predetermined threshold, the sampled waveforms, the detected high-speed quality events, and a single waveform representation, to be displayed for a user. 
     
     
       32. The electrical power meter of  claim 31 , further comprising a multiplexor for combining the stored detected high-speed quality events in time synchronization with the sampled waveforms to display the sampled waveforms and the detected high-speed quality events in the single waveform representation. 
     
     
       33. The electrical power meter of  claim 32 , further comprising a display unit for displaying the contents of the memory. 
     
     
       34. The electrical power meter of  claim 33 , wherein the display is a separate unit capable of retrieving the contents of the memory. 
     
     
       35. The electrical power meter of  claim 30 , further comprising at least one high pass filter for filtering the high-speed quality events from the at least one voltage input and at least one current input before being detected by the digital high-speed peak detectors. 
     
     
       36. The electrical power meter of  claim 30 , further comprising at least one electrical isolator coupled between the at least one voltage input and current input and the wave analysis component. 
     
     
       37. The electrical power meter of  claim 23 , wherein the digital sampler samples the at least one voltage waveform and at least one current waveform at a first scanning rate, further comprising:
 a plurality of analog high-speed peak detectors for detecting high-speed quality events at the at least one voltage input and the at least one current input at a second scanning rate, the second scanning rate being faster than the first scanning rate; 
 an analog/digital converter for converting analog signals into digital signals to perform calculations and comparisons; and 
 a wave analysis component for comparing the detected high-speed quality events to a predetermined threshold, storing the detected high-speed quality events in time synchronization with the monitored power metering parameters if the high-speed quality events detected are above the predetermined threshold in a memory, and disregarding the detected high-speed quality events if the detected high-speed quality events are below the predetermined threshold. 
 
     
     
       38. The electrical power meter of  claim 37 , wherein the memory stores the predetermined threshold, the sampled waveforms, the detected high-speed quality events, and a single waveform representation, to be displayed for a user.
 a multiplexor for combining the stored detected high-speed quality events in time synchronization with the sampled waveforms to display the sampled waveforms and the detected high-speed quality events in the single waveform representation. 
 
     
     
       39. The electrical power meter of  claim 38 , further comprising a display unit for displaying the contents of the memory. 
     
     
       40. An electrical power meter comprising:
 a housing for containing electrical circuitry for measuring power usage therein, the electrical circuitry including a digital sampler configured for sampling at least one voltage waveform and at least one current waveform and at least one processor configured to execute a plurality of different tasks related to the sampled at least one voltage and current waveforms and running independently from one another in response to a plurality of concurrent request submitted by multiple users, 
 wherein the housing includes at least one voltage input and at least one current input coupled to the digital sampler, the at least one voltage input being disposed on a surface of the housing and the at least one current input being configured as at least one passage extending entirely through the housing. 
 
     
     
       41. The electrical power meter of  claim 40 , further comprising a network interface configured to simultaneously provide the multiple users each with a result of a respective one of said plurality of different tasks. 
     
     
       42. The electrical power meter of  claim 41 , further comprising a memory coupled to the at least one processor for storing network protocol conversion algorithms. 
     
     
       43. The electrical power meter of  claim 42 , wherein the at least one processor performs at least one power calculation and converts at least one of the sampled voltage waveforms, the sampled current waveforms and the power calculation to at least one network protocol using one of the network protocol conversion algorithms, the at least one network protocol being provided through said network interface. 
     
     
       44. An electrical power meter comprising:
 a housing for containing electrical circuitry for measuring power usage therein, the housing including at least one voltage input and at least one current input, the at least one current input being configured as at least one passage extending entirely through the housing; and 
 a face plate operatively supported on a front surface of the housing for mounting the housing in a panel, 
 wherein the at least one passage is disposed on a rear surface of the housing opposite the face plate. 
 
     
     
       45. The electrical power meter according to  claim 44 , wherein the face plate includes a plurality of indicators configured to indicate a percentage of load bar measured by the electrical power meter. 
     
     
       46. The electrical power meter according to  claim 44 , further comprising a communication interface disposed on the rear surface of the housing. 
     
     
       47. The electrical power meter according to  claim 46 , wherein the housing is configured for ANSI mounting. 
     
     
       48. The electrical power meter according to  claim 46 , wherein the housing is configured for DIN mounting. 
     
     
       49. The electrical power meter according to  claim 46 , wherein the communication interface is a network interface card. 
     
     
       50. The electrical power meter according to  claim 46 , wherein the communication interface is an Ethernet interface. 
     
     
       51. The electrical power meter according to  claim 46 , wherein the communication interface is an Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) interface. 
     
     
       52. The electrical power meter according to  claim 46 , wherein the communication interface operates in accordance with Modbus Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). 
     
     
       53. The electrical power meter according to  claim 46 , wherein the communication interface operates in accordance with RS-485. 
     
     
       54. The electrical power meter according to  claim 46 , wherein the communication interface operates in accordance with an e-mail protocol. 
     
     
       55. The electrical power meter according to  claim 46 , wherein the communication interface operates in accordance with File Transfer Protocol (FTP). 
     
     
       56. The electrical power meter according to  claim 46 , wherein the communication interface operates in accordance with Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). 
     
     
       57. The electrical power meter of  claim 44 , further comprising an external device interface for connecting an external device to said electrical power meter.